Spotlight on French wines

Many of us have felt the pressure to turn up at a dinner party with a classy bottle of wine, and in a quest to do so have spent a week’s rent on a drop just so our friends don’t think badly of us.

But while there’s no doubt some of the world’s finest wines are beyond the means of most of us, as the amount of wine available has increased in recent years so has the array of affordable but excellent vinos on the market.

And while there’s a perception in this country of French wine in particular being in the pricier bracket, if you know what you’re looking for, you can impress your friends with a classy French red or top notch bottle of bubbles while still having plenty of money left over for a fantastic spread at your next dinner party.

One man who knows all about the huge array of French wine on offer in the UK is wine expert Colin Deane. He holds the Wine & Spirit Education Trust Diploma and has judged for the International Wine Challenge and remains a panel judge for the International Wine & Spirit Competition.

So if you’re after top tips on how to identify excellent, but affordable French wine, or would simply like to gain a better understanding of the different types of wine available from the world’s most famous wine producing nation, then make sure you don’t miss Colin’s French Wine Masterclass Web TV show.

Colin Deane joins us live online on 2nd November at 15:00 for a French Wine Masterclass.

H: If you want to impress your hosts and turn up with a delicious bottle of wine then stayed tuned, because today I’m going to find out how you can choose some of the best. Cheers.

Credits

H: Hello and welcome to Taste Talk, I’m Vicky Letch. Now for centuries, France has been producing some of the world’s finest wines. So much so that New World producers have often tried to emulate the characteristics of the Old World favourites, and while some of you might think that French wines are more expensive than others, if you know what you’re looking for, you can actually impress your friends with a class red, or a first rate bottle of champers. Yummy! Without even breaking the bank. Well, one man who knows all about the huge array of French wine on offer in the UK, is a wine expert who holds – get this – the Wine and Sprit Education Trust Diploma. Wow! And casts his wine judgement internationally. It’s Colin Deane, Wine Educator. Welcome sir

A: What an introduction! What an introduction in one breath!

H: I know, I’m out of breath! And…breathe! So for all of you, thank you very much for joining us today and here’s what’s coming up on the show. We find about what to look for when selecting the right bottle of wine. We taste and review some great French wines – I’m very much looking forward to that part! And then of course all of your questions about wine will be tackled here live. So a good time to point out that we are streaming live, so if you do have any wine related questions, or just any questions at all. We’re not fussy are we?

A: Any, any! Ones that are decent!

H: Oh yes, decent at all times – then please use the box on your screens to get in touch with us. And of course if you are on Twitter, you can use #studiotalk. Right, so I have to say Colin, I’m very excited about tasting all of these wines, but before we do that, let’s go back to basics if you don’t mind.

A: Not at all

H: When we are looking to buy the perfect bottle, is it all about money? Should we be thinking £20+ to get it right?

A: Not at all! It’s a bit…how long is a piece of string. A bottle of wine, you walk in – you’re a housewife – you walk into the supermarket, you know you want this cut of pork, you want that yoghurt, you want that pasta

H: Yes

A: And then suddenly, there’s a forest of bottles in front of you and you think, Oh my God, what am I going to serve with the pork, what am I going to serve with the pasta? That’s when we have to start to think, right, how much am I going to spend? And let’s face it, price is very important

H: Yes

A: We then need a little bit of help, and of course now with the internet there are masses of websites you can just go on and get tips, info, especially on French wines of course. France is for me unique. It is the greatest centre of fine wine production

H: Yes

A: And as you said earlier, it has influenced wine production. There’s not a sparkling wine in the world that does not have to nod towards champagne. And let’s face it Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Syrah – they’re all French varieties. So the New World has had to use basically French varieties, so create their own

H: And what do you think about people who get quite stuck in their ways with a wine? I have to put my hand up and say I’m probably that person. I drink red wine all the time and I always go for the same sort of red wine. Should we be teaching ourselves all the grapes and all the different varieties and should we try new things?

A: Not all, because we all have our own taste palate, we know what we like and we do tend to stick with it, but we should be a bit more adventurous and in fact, when we start tasting – we all know our Cabernet Sauvignons and our Syrahs. Bit of Syrah in that, but on the whole you’re not looking at Chardonnay, or Cabernet Sauvignon. So the three French wines, very affordable, but all with a different taste profile

H: Actually, let’s touch on that for a moment. Very affordable. Because what we were saying in the introduction there, if you weren’t with us, is that lots of people do have this perception of French wines costing the earth and that’s not the case, is it?

H: And what about these copycats? I’m sure that’s not quite the right term, but people who are trying to emulate that French taste in the wine? Is it better to go for the real McCoy, or are some of them quite successful?

A: Well, I don’t think we all want to walk around looking like David Beckham and Victoria Beckham; we want to be ourselves, so let’s create our own style of wine. And it’s funny, because many of the new wine countries, they have their own indigenous grape varieties, but they will go down the Chardonnay path, or the Cabernet Sauvignon, I suppose because it sells, but why not try and be yourself, or even blend, but in large parts, be yourself

H: OK. So what about the fact that there is so much choice and it’s all so readily available? We go to the supermarket and it’s just a wall of wine, different grapes, different varieties, different grades. How would I know that I am choosing a good bottle?

A: Well, you really wouldn’t. If you just go up to a bottle and you don’t know it, you’re not going to know what it’s like until you get home and try it what it’s like. It is being adventurous, it is not just sticking to the wine that I know and I trust and I like, but trying other bottles and at that price point, it’s not difficult to do. Go to wine tastings, join wine clubs. There’s a marvellous website called www. frenchqualitywines.co.uk, which is marvellous for hints and information about these wines, so you can always find out about them beforehand, and one important thing I’m going to teach you about tasting. Always remember about tasting, you’re bringing the wine to you. Wine has to meet you half way, it’s living. It’s not the just the bottle, some man has actually gone to the effort of looking after these wines like children and creating this liquid. Yes, it’s agricultural, but it’s got a life of it’s own and wine is young, it goes through a maturity and it dies, it’s a bit like people

H: Oh. That was quite moving

A: Oh good, I wanted it to be.

H: Yes, I like that

A: I didn’t see a tear, but I wanted it. Onion, onion, onion!

H: If we weren’t live, I would be crying! Do remember of course, we are live, so if you do have any wine related questions at all we can get them answered in the next section, and of course, I’ll be tasting that lovely wine in a moment

Break

H: Hello. So if you’ve just joined us today, we’re talking about how you can be confident in your choice of wine and I’m here with a Wine Educator, it’s Colin Deane, so without further ado, let’s get sampling. What are we going to kick off with?

A: We’re going to start with a white. And it’s from Gascogne and it’s a great variety called Ugni Blanc

H: Ugni Blanc?

A: Never heard of it? Ugni Blanc. Lovely, isn’t it? Lovely sound. In Italy it’s called Trebbiano. It’s a variety generally used for making cognac and Armagnac, but look at what a lovely wine it makes

H: So let’s say, certainly for me, I’ve never been to a wine tasting course, anything like that before, so talk us through the whole process of what you’re doing and what you’re looking for at this stage

A: OK. First of all, look at the glasses. They’re not those open glasses because you want to be able to concentrate the aroma, so you can smell them. I’ve poured it into the glass, and you have a look at it first of all

H: What am I looking for?

A: First of all with this, it’s been open a little while, but originally it had tiny little bubbles, you can still see a few

H: I have bubbles

A: You do. You see it’s carbon dioxide which lifts the wine and makes it lighter, keeps it fresh. And that’s a natural offshoot of fermentation which creates the wines of course. Now, you’ve looked at it, it’s nice, it’s bright, it hasn’t got any loo paper in it, it’s absolutely clear, and now you swirl it

H: Right, now what is this swirling all in aid of?

A: Swirling is releasing the smell. Releasing the aromas, you’re just doing that to let the aromas out. Now I want you to smell it from the edge of the glass

H: OK

A: Sort of lemony

H: Oh it’s delicious

A: Gorgeous, isn’t it?

H: It’s a sort of smell of summer for me

A: Very much. Very much. Zingy. Now try smelling with your nose in the middle of the glass. Much broader, much denser, much more smell to it. Now what I want you to do is have a little sip and swallow it. Just a little sip and down the hatch. Acidity, freshness, lemony, but not much more, because you haven’t given the wine time to meet you. You haven’t even given it half way. We’re going to go back now. You’re going to put it in your mouth and you’re going to pretend you’re a Listerine ad. You’re going to close your eyes and you’re going to swirl it around, count to 10 and just think of what’s happening. You’re going to get much more flavour out of it, so let’s go.

H: So I’m swirling now?

A: Swirling now

H: Like mouthwash!

A: Exactly. Like a mouthwash. Swallow. Now, you’re getting these flavours coming back, much more complex, much more concentrated, your mouth is watering like Niagra because of the beautiful zingy acidity, that is what the wine is about, you’re letting the wine speak to you. You’ve given your brain time to pass down the message of the aromas you’ve smelled and the flavours in your mouth, now you’ve given your brain time to put it all together, that’s what wine can tell you

H: That’s amazing! It’s like going from a one night stand to a full blown relationship

A: Absolutely

H: In about 2 minutes

A: Well, wine is very sexy and that’s why it works like that, gorgeous isn’t it?

H: Really lovely and I have to say, I haven’t been into my white wines so much of late, you may just have turned me just with one little sip

A: That’s a beautiful wine

H: So let’s move on to the red wine then

A: Do you want to do that before the rosé?

H: I do indeed, if that’s OK?

A: Of course!

H: Oh no, it’s up to you! You’re the expert!

A: There’s no rule, there’s absolutely no rule. We make our own rules in wine

H: OK, good. Whilst you’re doing that, can we have a quick conversation about the cork and the screw cap debate?

A: Yes

H: I know lots of people are still very snobby about the screw cap. Are you getting an inferior product with the screw cap?

A: Vexed question and it’s still relatively early days. The thing is a lot of people say screw cap prevents corkiness in wines. It doesn’t. I’ve judged wines from screw cap and they’ve been corked, because what causes the imbalance of corkiness is not necessarily just from the cork, it can come from lack of hygiene in the cellars, it can come from lack of hygiene in the casks, and it can spread, it does spread. So there’s no guarantee that because I’ve used that, that it’s going to be fine.

H: OK

A: And here of course, you’ve got plastic. Not that I ever really need to, but if I do leave some wine behind, it’s quite nice to be able to put the cork back in, but you don’t really with that. Cork is a natural, living substance, and of course because it’s been so endangered is that people, the cork makers have really tightened up their act and the cork now is much better than it used to be. Also…I’m a sommelier, you’re in a restaurant, I show you the bottle and you look at it, I don’t want to do that. It’s not quite the same as that magic sound of the pop of a cork

H: I have to say, I do agree with that. Let’s get pouring this red wine and I mean, I was wooed into the studio, was I not? I was in the hallway and I could hear Colin opening the wines and it is the most amazing sound

A: It is, and it’s a romantic sound as well

H: Now, I am a red wine girl. I do love my red wine, so I’m looking forward to this one. What characteristics are you looking for in a…a let’s say in a traditional French red wine?

A: This is fantastic. This is from the southern Rhone, it’s a village called Rasteau, which is a Cotes de Rhone village, it’s named after the village, and Rasteau gives you lots of big, sexy, chunky fruit. It’s a husband and wife team making this

H: Oh, how lovely

A: Which is really lovely and Jean-Pierre and Martine make their wines together and the vines vary – most of them are 100 years old. Some of them average on 50. We’ve got a blend of the 2 here. We’ve got Syrah, which is a big grape variety, we’ve got Grenache and we’ve got another local variety called Cinsault, so none of your Cabernet Sauvignon, these are the local varieties. French is so rich in the tradition of it’s food and wine marrying each other and that’s what we’ve got here

H: OK, let’s get married

A: So first of all, let’s go through the whole act, let’s get married. Congratulations

H: Yes, I know that part!

A: Now, look at the depth of colour first of all

H: Now, let me ask you, how important is colour with a red wine?

A: Very

H: Because I always lean towards the colours

A: Very, but you see what happens is, white wines gain colour as they age on the whole, and red wines lose. And they start losing that blue-purple-y beautiful colour and then they start going more brick. And particularly around the meniscus, the rim of the wine you can see, that’s very youthful. That’s still got a lot of blue and deep colour, a deep purple-y colour. It’s quite a dense colour isn’t it?

H: Yes, it really is

A: You can’t really see your finger on the other side of it if you stick it there

H: I’m being told off, I have to tell you, by my producer saying “swirl it around”. I can’t help it, it’s just naturally I have to swallow this stuff

A: And warming. You’ve moved from alcohol of 10.5 to 15. It’s got a lot more alcohol and you can feel the warmth

H: You can, travelling down, can’t you

A: A winter’s day. Notice, if you swirl it next time, Vicky, instead of just…

H: I did! My second one I swallowed!

A: Did you? Oh good. Notice how the fruit opens up. That sort of pruneiness. The tannins, tannins are those…you get them in tea, they grit the teeth. You can feel them but they’re soft. They’re not aggressive and they’re perfectly in balance with alcohol and fruit. They’re one of the greatest makers in this area though, they are famous. And really for £10.99…you know…

H: Yes! You’re not breaking the bank and you’re getting a lot for your money

A: And how much fruit you’ve got there. So much fruit!

H: Absolutely. I hate to rush you but we…

A: We should move on to the rosé

H: We should move on to the rosé. Now much as I do love a red wine, if it’s hot outside, if I’m at a barbeque, anything at all it’s rosé all the way. I love a dry rosé. Am I right in saying that rosés from France are always dry? Have I made that up?

A: Not always, you can get sweet rosés and demi-sec as well

H: You can get sweet

A: This is a dry rosé in a bottle which is the…it’s called a skittle style bottle because it looks like a skittle you’d find in a bowling alley

H: It’s actually very elegant, I think it’s a nice shape

A: It was once promoted as the Pammy, because it was shaped like Pamela Anderson, but I’m not quite sure that the enhancement of the top is quite in keeping…if you know what I mean

H: Yes

A: So we will try a rosé made from Grenache

H: Now, we’ve talked a lot about colours of wine today. This is another one of my mad theories and tell me if I’ve made this one up too. I always tend to go for a very pale, sort of that blush-y colour in my rosés.

A: Such a beautiful colour

H: And I always think that that will result in a dry rosé, is that the case?

A: Not necessarily. You see it’s rosé because you’ve left the grape skins in long enough to get the colour, because the colour is leeched out of the skins. The longer you leave them the more colour you get

H: Oh interesting

A: And there are different methods of making rosé as well. Which I won’t go into

H: Very nice, very nice. Well that was probably my favourite part of the show, but coming up obviously in part 3, we’re going to be having a look at your questions so keep them coming in and I’ll see you in a mo

Break

H: OK, so we’re back with you. Do remember of course that we’re totally live, so if you do have any questions, pop them in the box below, click submit and we’ll answer as many as we possibly can and if you are tweeting, then all you have to do is #studiotalk, because we’d really love to hear from you. So we’ve got a question that’s come in from Tim in Bolton, thank you very much Tim. Tim says,”The great thing about New World wines is the fruit, it packs a punch. Which red French wines have the powerful cassis flavour?”

A: Vicky…fruit, fruit and more fruit…Now cassis flavour, cassis is typical of Cabernet Sauvignon, it does taste like cassis, so the many Cabernet Sauvignons from the South, from the hot regions of the South where you will get that lovely cassis flavour. But there you’ve got almost like rich fruit cake. It’s big chunky fruit with the chocolate and it’s so complex and so beautiful so Tim…ahem…

H: There you go Tim. Brilliant. Let’s move on, this is from David Jeeves, thank you David, and David says, “If the label on a bottle of French wine is all in English, does that mean it’s a cheap wine?”

A: I think that means they’re trying to sell it actually, because it’s like selling Tolstoy in the original Russian in Waterstones, I don’t think many copies would be sold

H: Yes. Enough said on that one. Good. Let’s move on then, this is from Julia Hatch. Now Julia says, “I tend to drink more beer than wine, but I’ve been recently won over by low volume French reds”. Thanks Julia. More of a comment

A: Yes, I’m very glad

H: Me too

A: Because French reds…actually, the French paradox is an interesting case, because why do these people in France who eat this food with all this rich carbohydrate, you know, cassoulets and foie gras, down the in South West, the average age is 90+ of dying. Why? Because they drink red wine. Here a specific red wine which is very, very high in the good side of a red wine, which brings down all this, so that’s why. So go on, good, keep drinking red wine

H: And also I have to say, I mean I have to say, fine if you have the odd beer, but I generally live by the rule of if the glass is bigger than your head, do not partake

A: Also fills you up too much

H: It does fill you up you’re right. This one is from Claire Bloomfield. Thank you very much Claire Bloomfield. She says, “I love the more powerful reds. What grape varieties should I go for?”

A: Syrah, definitely Syrah. And if you can find it, Tanat is in Madiran down in the South West, which is available. Cahors. Cahors was originally known as the black wine of Cahors because it was big and powerful. In fact it was also the black wine was blended in. They used to stir it and heat it so it got darker. It was not a wine you drank on its own. But Cahors can still be a big, chunky, powerful wine. You find it in the supermarkets, or indeed, I point you again…typical, excellent quality Rhone wines. Rhone reds are big, they’re big powerful wine so Rhone reds

H: My Mr. Red has done well today hasn’t he? So before we go then, because we are running out of time, what’s your tipple of choice? What would you go for?

H: Lovely. Thank you so much, it’s been so interesting. I wish we had hours and hours and hours, but we don’t, we’ve got to go. Thank you very much for tuning in. Of course if you want any more tips, advice, or just any more information do go on to the website which is www.frenchqualitywines.co.uk and I’ll see you next time. Bye bye!